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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. tear — to rip
  6. degree — temperature
  7. rush — hurry
  8. scale — size or range
  9. club — a group
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. degree — an amount
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. tear — from crying
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. drill — army training
  16. club — for golf
  17. scale — in music
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. club — for dancing
  20. degree — from a university
  21. drill — the tool
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. sharp — clever
  24. drill — a practice

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com